Deliberations

DONTA CRADDOCK and Ivan Rodriguez were brought to tears Wednesday afternoon upon hearing that they had been found guilty of four counts of second-degree murder and would spend the rest of their lives in state prison. "Sorry, Mom, for letting you down and everything. Even though I'm going to be in for the rest of my life, I'm sorry," Craddock, 21, softly said from the wheelchair he has been confined to since the fatal car crash he caused while fleeing a robbery scene on June 10, 2009.

A federal jury signaled a deadlock yesterday on a remaining count in the trial of a Philadelphia investment banker accused of lying to the FBI, but then resumed deliberations and will return this morning for another effort to reach a verdict. "It appears that the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict on Count One," the jury foreman wrote in a note before 3 p.m. to U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson. "Certain positions will not change based on the evidence presented. " Baylson asked the jury to try again "for some period of time" to reach a verdict in the case against Denis J. Carlson, who is accused of lying to FBI agents when they questioned him in the wide-ranging investigation into corruption in Philadelphia government.

The jury in the insurance-fraud trial of boxing promoter Don King began deliberations yesterday in New York after lawyers finished closing arguments. U.S. District Judge Lawrence McKenna instructed the jury on the law, then the jurors deliberated about an hour before going home. Earlier, the judge took the unusual step of letting the defense provide a 15-minute response to the government's rebuttal. The prosecutor was then allowed another five minutes. The additional arguments were permitted by McKenna because jurors were returning from a three-day holiday weekend, and the judge feared they were too far removed from last week's arguments to allow only a prosecutor to speak.

Defense lawyers for former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo moved late today for an immediate halt in jury deliberations and the removal of one juror, contending that the juror posted oblique remarks on Facebook.com and Twitter.com - including one declaring, "Stay tuned for a big announcement on Monday everyone!" The petition, filed on the eve of the scheduled sixth day of deliberations in Fumo's federal corruption trial, stated that there was "substantial evidence" that the juror, who was not identified, had violated admonitions not to disclose the status of deliberations.

A Montgomery County jury recessed last night after 10 1/2 hours of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the trial of two West Philadelphia men charged in the New Year's Day slaying of Dr. Michael Groll, the Abington fertility specialist. Deliberations were scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. today. The 12 jurors ended the second day of deliberations at 11 last night, and Judge Joseph H. Stanziani said they could resume their work Monday. But jury foreman Gerald Dotterer told the judge that while his fellow jurors were "mentally exhausted" they wanted to return to deliberations today in an effort to reach a verdict.

The federal jury considering the fraud and tax charges against T. Milton Street Sr. today begins its second full day of deliberations. The 12 jurors have spent a total of eight hours in deliberations since late Tuesday afternoon, when they began weighing the evidence against Street and codefendant John H. Velardi Sr. The 2006 indictment alleges that Street, 68, of Moorestown, a well-known food vendor and former Pennsylvania state legislator, failed...

A U.S. District Court jury is scheduled to begin deliberations this morning in the racketeering and extortion trial of lawyer Robert F. Simone. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge James T. Giles instructed the jury on the law governing the charges contained in the federal indictment. Simone, who has represented mob boss Nicodemo Scarfo for more than a decade, is charged with two counts of violating the broad racketeering statute, two counts of extortion and two counts of collection of credit through extortion.

A PHILADELPHIA JURY Wednesday begins deliberating the degree of guilt of two men charged in the deaths of three children and a young mother killed by a speeding car that jumped a Feltonville sidewalk minutes after the defendants committed an armed robbery in June 2009. The trial of Donta Craddock, 21, and Ivan Rodriguez, 23, concluded in Common Pleas Court Tuesday with the jury hearing from the mothers and a grandmother of the victims, from a wheelchair-bound Craddock and closing arguments from the case's attorneys.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Sax at times spoke directly to accused killer Donte Johnson in his closing argument Tuesday as he described the rape, beating, and eventual killing of Sabina Rose O'Donnell. "He took everything from her," Sax said as Johnson, 20, stared back intently, his jaw clenched, his face expressionless. "Her dignity, her womanhood, her freedom, her life. And you've given us back zero in terms of remorse or contrition. ... He gave us nothing. " Gary Server, Johnson's attorney, described Johnson in his closing argument as "feebleminded" and "one can short of a six-pack" — someone whose childlike brain did not know what he was doing when he confessed to the June 2010 killing.

DURING HIS closing argument Tuesday in the trial of Sabina Rose O'Donnell's alleged killer, a city prosecutor seized on DNA evidence that linked Donte Johnson to her 2010 rape and murder. A defense attorney, for his part, said that the "feeble-minded" Johnson may have been "one can short of a sixpack" but that he was not guilty. The arguments, delivered to a packed Philadelphia courtroom, were followed by jury instructions from Common Pleas Judge Glenn Bronson. The jury deliberated for about two hours before going home for the day. Johnson, 20, is accused of stalking the 20-year-old Northern Liberties waitress as she rode a borrowed bicycle home on Girard Avenue early on June 2, 2010.

The jury in the murder trial of former Philadelphia Police Officer Frank Tepper - charged with shooting his Port Richmond neighbor following a 2009 melee - ended its first full day of deliberations Wednesday. The Common Pleas Court jury spent about six hours in deliberations Wednesday after almost an hour on Tuesday. It will resume its review of the evidence Thursday morning at the Criminal Justice Center. The jury of eight women and four men returned to open court Wednesday to listen twice more to the audiotape of the 911 call made at 10:56 p.m. Nov. 21, 2009.

HARRISBURG - The jury in the corruption trial of State Rep. Bill DeWeese deliberated for a second full day Friday without reaching a verdict. The seven women and five men broke for the weekend after eight hours of deliberations and are scheduled to return Monday. The only public signal they gave was when, for the second time, they asked Dauphin County Court President Judge Todd A. Hoover if they could see specific pages from the transcript of DeWeese's testimony before the grand jury that ultimately recommended theft charges against him. Hoover for a second time denied the request, citing court rules that the judge said bar a jury from reviewing such testimony.

The jury in Rep. Bill DeWeese's political corruption trial deliberated for six hours Thursday before breaking for the day without a verdict. The jurors asked for evidence to be brought back to the deliberation room, including copies of the transcript of DeWeese's grand jury testimony. Dauphin County Court President Judge Todd A. Hoover denied that request but allowed them to review several boxes containing leave slips that legislative employees submitted when they conducted political work during legislative hours.

Jury deliberation began Wednesday in the U.S. District Court trial of two former Camden police officers charged with violating the constitutional rights of people involved in 13 police actions during 2008 and 2009. Antonio Figueroa, 35, and Robert Bayard, 33, who were members of the Special Operations Unit, are accused of falsifying reports, planting evidence, and taking money from drug dealers. - Nathan Gorenstein

Jurors in the federal trial of two Camden police officers are expected to start deliberating Tuesday after final arguments in U.S. District Court and after hearing brief testimony from one defendant's wife. Antonio Figueroa, 35, and Robert Bayard, 33, who were members of the Special Operations Unit, are accused of falsifying reports, planting evidence, and taking money from drug dealers in 2008 and 2009. Three other officers previously pleaded guilty. The trial is in its fourth week.